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08-13-19 Rising TIDES Agenda Packet REGULAR MEETING AGENDA 1. Call to Order 2. Attendance/Roll Call 3. Approval of Agenda 4. Approval of July 9, 2019 Minutes 5. Brief Update on “Communicating Equity with the Community” A. Brochure B. Open Forums C. “Why I Serve” Campaign 6. Recommendations A. Process of Reviewing City Contracts and RFP’s to Eliminate Potential Bias B. Increasing Diversity on Boards, Commissions, Advisory Groups, and Elected Officials 7. Adjournment August 13, 2019 – 5:15 pm Council Conference Room Golden Valley City Hall 7800 Golden Valley Road Rising TIDES Task Force REGULAR MEETING MINUTES Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 5:20 pm by Vice Chair Harris. Roll Call Members present: Amber Alexander, Tanveer Gulzar, Ajani Woodson, Ruth Paradise, Melissa Johnson, Millicent Flowers, Maurice Harris, Joelle Allen (arrived at 5:37 pm) Members absent: Sheri Hixon and Sam Powers Staff present: Tim Cruikshank, City Manager, Kirsten Santelices, Human Resources Director, and Maria Cisneros, City Attorney Approval of Agenda MOTION by Member Alexander to approve agenda. Seconded by Member Paradise. Motion carried. Approval of Minutes MOTION by Member Paradise to approve the May 14 and June 11, 2019 regular meeting minutes as submitted. Seconded by Member Johnson. Motion carried. Public Input and Communication Process Discussion Vice Chair Harris provided a recap of the June meeting where members of the Task Force discussed communicating the Task Force initiatives and the equity plan with the community. Commissioners discussed whether or not it would be too early to get feedback from the community because there haven’t been any official recommendations made by the task force. Member Johnson shared that the current structure of asking for feedback afterward, rather than now, that some communities may feel that they have not been heard, which is traditionally how marginalized groups have felt. Member Johnson posed the question, “How does the City flip it so that communities feel included from the beginning?” Members discussed whether or not the Task Force wants input on particular topics, or the entire equity plan. Further discussion took place on why it may be important to get community input sooner in the process rather than later. Member Flowers asked what tools of communication have been successful for the City in the past. The City Manager provided an overview of the tools the City traditionally uses to communicate, including social media, website, CCX media and other media sources, newsletters, postcards, etc. Chair Allen responded to questions about the direction of the Task Force and clarified for members that the goal is to ensure that they provides deliverables and specific recommendations for the City Council. Chair Allen shared a template for recommendations based on the topics discussed at the last meeting. July 9, 2019 – 5:15 pm Council Conference Room Golden Valley City Hall 7800 Golden Valley Road MEETING MINUTES – Rising TIDES Task Force July 9, 2019 2 Chair Allen moved the topic into New Business to discuss part of those recommendations, a new meeting structure. Chair Allen proposed that the Task Force members re-assign themselves to be owners of meeting topics. Furthermore, in lieu of a team building activity an assigned Task Force member would present recommendations from the previous meeting to the full Task Force. To formulate recommendations, the “topic owner” would use their own expertise, the meeting minutes, and any other sources of information. Each recommendation would be voted on by the Task Force to include in the final report presented to City Council. Chair Allen clarified for the group that each topic memo would become part of the final report that the Task Force would review and vote on in its entirety before submitting to City Council. Furthermore, Chair Allen shared that this was the recommendation phase, and there would be an implementation phase, which should also be part of the final recommendation to Council. Chair Allen passed around a sign-up sheet for members to sign up for a topic. The Commission agreed that more than one member could sign up for a topic and work together. Chair Allen then distributed proposed/draft recommendations memo with the Task Force on communicating equity with the community (document) and opened up the floor for discussion. The group discussed one of the recommendations, to host an open forum for community members to come and give input on the work of the Task Force and each topic. Member Alexander proposed that advertising and messages about the open forum be reviewed by the Task Force, or at least the topic owners (Chair Allen and Member Johnson). Another recommendation that was discussed was an opportunity to highlight members of the Task Force through a “Why I Serve” campaign. Chair Allen showed the group an example of what the campaign could look like. This campaign could eventually be extended beyond just the Task Force members. It was clarified that the recommendations posed by Chair Allen were more immediate, unlike recommendations for the other topics, which would go to Council as part of the final report. Commissioners asked that part of each topic recommendations memo include timing so there is flexibility to implement items sooner than the end of Phase I. Further discussion took place around Task Force Members connecting with the community through attending community events, sharing publications/materials that the City help to create, and reaching out to their own communities to share the equity plan and the work of the Task Force. MOTION by Vice Chair Harris to approve the recommendations memo presented by Chair Allen with addition of “preview publication materials for open forums,” and “create marketing materials for the Task Force,” and to approve the “Why I Serve” campaign to start in August. Seconded by Member Paradise. Motion carried 8-0. The Task Force will spend the August meeting hearing recommendations on the topics of “Eliminating Bias in Reviewing RFP and Contracting” and “Diversifying Boards, Commissions, and City Council.” Adjournment Meeting adjourned by Chair Allen at 6:21 pm. MEETING MINUTES – Rising TIDES Task Force July 9, 2019 3 _______________________________ Joelle Allen, Chair ATTEST: _________________________________ Kirsten Santelices, Human Resources Director Topic Recommendations Sign-up Sheet Based on the assignments below - a member of the task force will take on the responsibility of using our discussion and the minutes to draft a set of recommendations for the task force to vote on. This will take place in place of the “ice-breaker” portion of our meeting. Topic Topic Discussion Date Recommendations Presentation Date Topic Owner(s) Communicating Equity with the Community February 12, 2019 July 9, 2019 Joelle Allen Melissa Johnson Process Reviewing City Contracts and RFP’s to Eliminate Potential Bias March 12, 2019 April 9, 2019 August 13, 2019 Sam Powers Increasing Diversity in Boards/Commissions, Advisory Groups, and Elected Officials May 14, 2019 August 13, 2019 Maurice Harris Millicent Flowers Diversifying Employee Recruitment and Retention in Employment September 10, 2019 October 15, 2019 Amber Alexander Process Reviewing Community Outreach and Education Initiatives November 12, 2019 December 10, 2019 Tanveer Gulzar Ajani Woodson Process Ensuring Equity in City Programming, Services, and Facilities December 10, 2019 January 14, 2020 Ruth Paradise Melissa Johnson Full Task Force Schedule Date Topic Topic Owner January 5, 2019 City Equity Plan Review February 12, 2019 New Topic: Communicating Equity with the Community Joelle Allen Melissa Johnson March 12, 2019 New Topic: RFP and Contract Review Process Sam Powers April 9, 2019 Continue Topic: RFP and Contract Review Process May 14, 2019 New Topic: Increasing Diversity on Boards, Commissions, Advisory Groups, and Elected Officials Maurice Harris Millicent Flowers June 11, 2019 Rising TIDES Check Point July 9, 2019 Recommendations: Communicating Equity with the Community (February Topic) Joelle Allen Melissa Johnson August 13, 2019 Recommendations: RFP and Contract Review Processes (March and April Topic) Recommendations: Diversifying Boards, Commissions, Advisory Groups, and Elected Officials (May Topic) Sam Powers Maurice Harris Millicent Flowers September 10, 2019 New Topic: Diversifying Recruitment and Retention in Employment Amber Alexander October 15, 2019 Recommendations: Diversifying Recruitment and Retention in Employment Prepare for Open Forum Amber Alexander October 23, 2019 Open Forum: Communicating Equity with the Community, RFP and Contract Process, and Diversifying Boards, Commissions, Advisory Groups, and Elected Officials November 12, 2019 Recap of Open Forum: Incorporate Community Feedback into Draft Recommendations New Topic: Process for Reviewing Community Outreach and Education Initiatives Tanveer Gulzar Ajani Woodson December 10, 2019 Recommendations: Process for Reviewing Community Outreach and Education Initiatives New Topic: Process Ensuring Equity in City Programming, Services, and Facilities Tanveer Gulzar Ajani Woodson Ruth Paradise Melissa Johnson January 14, 2020 Recommendations: Process Ensuring Equity in City Programming, Services, and Facilities Prepare for Open Forum Ruth Paradise Melissa Johnson Date TBD Open Forum: Diversifying Recruitment and Retention in Employment, Community Outreach and Education Initiatives, and Equity in City Programming, Services, and Facilities February 11, 2020 Recap of Open Forum: Incorporate Community Feedback into Draft Recommendations March 10, 2020 Finalize Recommendation Report for City Council Rising Tides Task Force Proposed / Draft Recommendations Report To: Rising Tides Task Force From: Joelle Allen Topic: Recommendations for Consideration: General Process/Format and Topic of Communicating Equity with the Community Recap Last meeting, we spoke about various ways to inform the community of our progress and involve, particularly communities of color and traditionally under-represented communities, in the process. As noted in the minutes for the June meeting, various suggestions were put forward including in-person and digital touchpoints. All seemed to be in agreement that we engage the community in the process prior to going into an implementation phase. This document also proposes a template format that may be useful as we begin drafting recommendations for inclusion in a final document to be presented to the City Council in the March 2020 timeframe. With that in mind I am putting forth the following recommendations to keep the community informed and engaged: Steps to Begin Immediately: • Distribute the meeting packet through social media in addition to the website. • Assist in the creation of a survey for the purpose of soliciting both general and specific feedback from community members on each of the topics the task force. • Assist in identification and outreach to additional communities beyond those who regularly “tune in” to the city’s existing social, web, mailing list. • Assign a representative of the task force to attend city events as availability permits. • Create materials to distribute at City events explaining the mission purpose and relevant information. • Develop campaign to highlight members of the Task Force to help bridge the gap between the City and the community. Steps for Final Recommendation Report to City Council: • Hold two community listening sessions in order review the work and recommendations the task force has done around specific topics. o October Session – Discussion Topics: Communicating Equity with the Community, Diversifying Boards, Commissions, and Elected Officials, and Eliminating Bias in RFP and Contracts processes. o January Session – Discussion Topics: Equity in Programming, Services and Facilities, Outreach and Education Initiatives, and Recruitment and Retention • Look at annual community events to build relationships with communities of color and traditionally under-represented groups. The January & October sessions might provide insight into appropriate formats.